


Blood Soaked Janitors

by Flexor



Series: The Old Hounds [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Post Volume 3, V3 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 04:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7921054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flexor/pseuds/Flexor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Does anyone else wonder what the bad guys have been up to? Well, as it turns out, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald have been hiding in the caverns of Mountain Glenn, with Adam Taurus and the mighty warriors of the White Fang. Cinder needs a little time to herself to recover from the massive blast Ruby sent her.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, elite hunter/killer Team ICHR is sent out to destroy any remaining White Fang presence. The evildoers are driven off, leaving poor young Emerald in the clutches of Team ICHR. What horrible fate awaits her? Who can tell?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Soaked Janitors

>   
> "Extraordinary."
> 
> "Correct. This is not something that I am seeing every day. I much better like the days when I do not.""Is it moving? I do hope it's dead. It's giving reptiles a bad name.""Maybe I should get up there and put some ammo through its head, just to make sure.""Perhaps that will just wake it up and aggravate it.""I agree. It is better to ask any of, hah, Management still alive how to dispose of it.""It's in Ozpin's office. I don't think he's using it right now.""Now where can we find someone in charge?"One of the group noticed movement, pointed. A lone woman was pointing a riding crop at a collapsed building. The broken masonry reassembled itself, but when the woman let go, it collapsed again. She bowed her head, shoulders hunched. The Team walked over to her."Hey sweetie. Are you okay?"The woman took a breath, closed her eyes. She raised herself to her full impressive height."Of course," she said. "If you would just give me a moment, I will soon have this sorted.""Sure you will, honey. But first, I think you need a little tea break."The tall woman collapsed, into the strong arms of one of the Team. She picked her up and they set off for the Vale safe zone."Don't you worry about a thing honey. You're in the hands of Team ICHR."Glynda Goodwitch's eyes fluttered open."Team _ICHR?_ " she said. "I thought you were dead!"

* * *

 

"I have a job for you," said Glynda Goodwitch, Acting Head Master of Beacon Academy, closed until further notice for remodeling and pest control.

Igor Green bowed his head. "Please tell us, Miss Goodwitch."

"It's the White Fang," said Miss Goodwitch. "They're holed up in the underground caverns of Mountain Glenn, at least some of them are. I have received intelligence that one of my students, Miss Belladonna, has been instrumental in demoralising them, and killing a fair number of them. But now she seems to have left. It would be a shame if her efforts went to waste, and that particular rat's nest were allowed to breed again. I'd like you to mop up the remaining White Fang."

"Mop up," said Harry Tinker, 'Hades' to his friends and enemies. He stroked his thin beard. "Would that be in the _lethal_ sense? I ask merely because we have in the past been unfairly blamed for excessive violence, when provided with somewhat ambiguous instructions."

"Perish the thought," said Miss Goodwitch. "I want you to kill as many of them as you can, preferably all of them, and drive off any that you can't kill. Is that unequivocal enough for you?"

Hades smiled. "Splendid."

"Anything you feel like telling us about these rats?" Rosalinde licked her lips with her thin forked tongue. "Are they tasty? How big are they?"

"As far as I know," said Miss Goodwitch, "They're light to medium heavy. The usual White Fang caliber. There may be a few harder ones, though. Don't forget to bring a weapon."

"Can we get any accessories from you?" Crystal Lear's eyes shone. "I really fancy a case or two of armour piercing thirty-cal Dust rounds. I do go through a lot on _important_ missions."

"Ask Shopkeep. He runs the armory now. No promises, though. We are a bit short at the moment." 

* * *

 

The train tunnel was the best known secret entrance into Vale City. It was still open, but mindful of who lived on the other end of that tunnel, there was a small contingent of heavy armor guarding the entrance. No synthetics this time. Every trigger had on it the finger of an honest-to-goodness Human or Faunus, with spouses and children to protect. They didn't mind Team ICHR walking _into_ the tunnel. Walking _out_ got you the hard questions. Crystal was on point, humming a little tune as she marched forward. Igor and Hades were in the middle, with Rosalinde behind. Now and then, the sun would shine in through a hole in the ceiling where a notorious criminal named Roman Torchwick had set off explosives to let the Creatures of Grimm into Vale City. Rumor had it that Mr. Torchwick had literally been eaten by a Grimm in the middle of an arch-villain monologue. But since that story came from a fifteen year old girl, who had had a few nasty knocks on the head, everybody took it with a grain of salt.

Apart from some bats, and of course the ever-present rats, the tunnel was empty of life. It would have been a bit culturally insensitive to point out to Rosalinde the Snake Faunus all the tasty snacks scurrying about the place. The last person who had, had ended up being offered the rear half of a freshly killed rat. Rosalinde _could_ eat rats raw if she wanted to, much like a Cat Faunus could eat fish. Watching her do it, though, was enough to put anyone off their lunch. The joke had grown old anyway.

After a solid four-hour march, Crystal stopped. She sniffed.

"Oh crap," said Crystal, softly.

"Dead people," said Igor.

Rosalinde stuck out her forked tongue and grimaced. "Dead _faunuss_. Someone here does not like us." Rosalinde's voice had a way of becoming more snake-like when she got angry.

They walked on, carefully. A few minutes later, they saw the source of the smell. Thick cables were strung from one side of the tunnel to the other, and from these cables, each on its little bit of string, hung... arms. Faunus arms. Some with the sleeves of White Fang tunics still round them, some bare, some fallen to the floor when the... soft bits had rotted away. The angry buzz of flies was loud enough that they had to shout.

"This has to be the work of that Belladonna girl," said Crystal, trying not to breathe in too deeply.

Rosalinde sneered. "I suppose she has a reason to hate White Fang."

"We met her, remember?" said Hades. "She was with those first-years when we went to collect Miss Nikos. She seemed such a nice girl."

"It is always the quiet ones," said Igor. "Let's move on." 

* * *

 

As they came closer to their goal, they slowed down. Rosalinde went first, with the rest of Team ICHR a hundred yards or so behind. She took a deep breath, and became one with the shadows, one with the air, making no more sound than a summer breeze. Her eyes narrowed. A few hundred yards in front, she'd seen, smelled, a pair of Faunus. She reached up to her microphone and tapped it twice, not wanting to speak, knowing that her team mates would wait. Slowly, carefully, she slithered forward. Camouflaged under a pile of rocks, hidden in a dark corner of the tunnel was a machine gun mounted on a tripod. Two men were in the bunker, looking out into the tunnel for, oh, hunter teams sent to kill them.

Somewhere inside the gun nest, a beeper went off once. One of the men spoke briefly, then was quiet. Rosalinde reached for her mike again, and tapped out the coded signal that said "Enemy Sighted. Observing. Stand by." One returning click sounded in her earpiece. Rosalinde settled down, looked at her watch. Thirty minutes later, Home Base checked in again. Rosalinde thought only a second, then took a breath. Her body dissolved into what looked like smoke, and she crept forward to the back of the nest. She slid inside, drew daggers, and re-materialised herself behind the machine gunners. Before either of them knew she was there, she stabbed them both in the back of the neck. They died without even making a sound. Rosalinde keyed her mike.

"Killed two guards. We have thirty minutes before they are missed. Zone clear."

Igor's voice sounded in her ear. "Understood."

Rosalinde looked at the dead guards. One of them was missing his right arm. Presumably, that was now dangling on a string a half mile further along the tunnel. Young Miss Belladonna must be a severely disturbed young lady. Glynda Goodwitch had told them that she and her partner, a Miss Yang Xiao Long, had had a run-in with one of the White Fang leaders, which had left Miss Long without her right arm and Miss Belladonna with a stomach wound. Avenged a hundredfold. Rosalinde could understand revenge. She knew the taste of it. Sweet at first, with a bitter aftertaste. So easy to gorge oneself on, but never enough to fill the emptiness.

The rest of Team ICHR walked up. They dragged the bodies away, and Hades incinerated them with a fire spell. Hopefully, the White Fang would not realise that the burning smell was all that remained of their comrades and waste time looking for them. If luck would have it, they would be thought deserters. Before moving on, Crystal set a few fragmentation grenades with trip wires, to kill anyone who came to look for the guards.

The team came to the mouth of the tunnel. It opened up into a wide cavern. In the cavern were buildings that had once been the hiding place for the people of Mountain Glenn. As a strategy, hiding underground had been doomed from the start. Humans are not burrowing animals. They need the Sun. But Mountain Glenn above ground had become a place of fear, and fear brought the Grimm, which brought more fear in a vicious circle. Now, not even cold-blooded Rosalinde could walk the broken streets of Mountain Glenn without a sense of lingering dread. 

 

They entered one of the derelict buildings and hid away on the top floor to observe. They spent some time mapping out the underground complex, working from maps given to them by Miss Goodwitch, adding the places where they could see activity. They saw a strong patrol moving out to their outpost. They heard the muffled explosions in the distance. Before long, the entire compound was in a state of uproar, giving Team ICHR the chance to refine their maps. Though they could see several search-and-destroy parties going out, the White Fang hideout was too large to search thoroughly. Patrols did not even enter their building.

"Sloppy," said Crystal.

"Discipline is not optimal," agreed Igor.

"The White Fang ain't exactly a military force," said Rosalinde. "Never been. They make up for it by being extra crazy."

"Thus passes Humanity's glory," said Hades. "These people have not ventured from their safe space since the attack on Beacon. Otherwise, they would no doubt have cleared away Miss Belladonna's artwork."

"Let's hope they've got a few heavies here," said Crystal. "Makes this job feel less like mass murder."

"Tarnish on souls already thoroughly blackened", said Hades. "We are still outnumbered about thirty, forty to one, if that helps."

"That's what Old Painkiller's rapid fire is there for," said Crystal.

Igor got up. "Now, we go." 

 

They left their hiding place. Rosalinde set off on her own to look for the leaders. Igor, Crystal, and Hades made for the first building, the infirmary. All the windows were broken, though the bottom windows were repaired with some kind of plastic sheeting. It let the light in, and protected the patients' privacy. Igor went to the North entrance, Crystal and Hades to the south.

Igor keyed his mike. "Entering."

He kicked open the door, aimed his shotgun at one of the medics, and fired. The man went down before he realised what happened. Igor used his Semblance. With a cracking sound, crystals grew all over his body, protecting him from the guards' return fire while fixing him in place. Guards walked towards him, wasting their ammo on him. On the other end of the room, Hades entered. He raised his hand, and a bright ball of white fire flew through the room, setting fire to beds, floor, curtains, patients, guards. When nothing moved, Hades closed his fist and the fire orb disappeared without even a noise.

There was a cracking noise and Igor's armor shattered into a million pieces. An eerie silence settled. Igor's eyes moved quickly from body to body. He nodded.

"Now, Barracks one." 

 

Team ICHR's efforts had not gone unnoticed. From the two barracks, people started to pour out, armed with guns and swords. Igor spread out his arms, let his crystalline armor drip down to the floor. Crystal stood behind him, aiming her minicannon. The gravel under her feet cracked as she increased her mass to handle the recoil. A bright flame ignited at the barrels, and almost like a fire-hose, she sprayed the White Fang fighters with bullets, slicing people in half. Hades raised his hand, palm up, and two white hot orbs appeared, circling round each other. With a gesture of his fingers, he sent one to each of the barracks doors, blocking the exits. When nothing moved outside, they ran to one of the doors. Hades stood still for a moment, concentrating. The fire orbs grew, and moved inside the barracks. Black smoke came billowing out of doors and windows. A few people came running out of the doors, only to be shot down by Igor and Crystal. They entered the barracks, to be greeted only by the groans of people in pain. With their faces tight and unmoving, they walked from body to body, finishing off any that were still alive. None of them looked the other in the eye. Nobody spoke a word. In a long career of fighting, killing, hunting sentient beings, the questions about the morality of this kind of work had all been asked already, the answers accepted. All that remained was their duty. Team ICHR had been offered this work. They had accepted it. No more was to be said. 

 

There were some fighters in the Mountain Glenn hideout who did know what they were doing. Ex military. Ex guerillas, who did have the mantra of Self, Team, Mission drilled into them, either by teaching or by hard-earned experience. The first duty of any fighter is to stay alive, because dead soldiers only help the enemy. Next comes your team, because these are the people who put their lives in your hands as you put yours in theirs. Only then do you think of the mission. The more experienced White Fang did not foolishly present themselves to be mowed down by fire or bullets. They hid in the buildings, and waited for Team ICHR to show themselves. 

 

Rosalinde, unseen, unheard, moved from building to building. Seeing. Hearing. Observing. She could hear the noises of the fight going on between the rest of her team and the White Fang. For the most, she ignored it. Her team-mates could handle themselves and even if they could not, there was nothing Rosalinde could do about it. Nor should she try. Her job was to gain all the information she could for her team. Knowledge was often a more powerful weapon than guns or blades.

Rosalinde had joined this team fifteen years ago, replacing her boyfriend Razid, who had been killed before her eyes on a mission gone terribly wrong. Razid had been a powerful Wolf Faunus, with a speed semblance that made him look like lightning incarnate. It had not been enough. An enemy mage had worked on his mind, made him think that Rosalinde was lying on the ground, bleeding, screaming, dying. His hands had closed on nothing, and Hades and Razid had been caught. The enemy mage had taken over Hades' mind, and forced him to use his magic to torture Razid with fire until he broke. Then, he burnt him to death. Rosalinde had stayed hidden till the very end, then ran off, into the hands of Igor and Crystal. Together, they had managed to free Hades, whose mind had been in a state of nearly complete collapse. Igor, Crystal, Hades, and Rosalinde had returned to the enemy camp. Rosalinde had gone in first, scouting out where all the enemies slept, and returned. Using Rosalinde's information, the four of them had killed all their enemies, and captured the mage who, using Hades as a tool, had killed Razid. Igor had encased him in indestructible crystals, and Rosalinde had injected him with her venom. She had watched his face from a foot away as he thrashed against his diamond prison, until his voice gave out from screaming. In the end, Hades hit him with everything he had, till nothing remained of the mage but ashes.

Igor recognised the value in an expert scout like Rosalinde and offered her a place on the team. Rosalinde thought long on it, then accepted. She didn't like Crystal, never quite forgave Hades, and never quite trusted Igor, but they had kept her alive, and they had given her the chance to take her revenge on Razid's murderers. 

 

Igor leaned against a wall, kneeled by the window. He used a small mirror to look for enemies, but nothing stirred. He keyed his mike.

"Rosalinde? Please to report on enemy positions."

Rosalinde's whisper sounded in their earpieces. "My position. Twelve Faunus. Assault rifles, one sniper. Line of sight on your position."

Igor tapped his scroll. "Locked. Relocate."

There was silence for ten seconds, then Rosalinde came back. "Clear."

Igor stood up, behind the wall, and stretched out his left arm. He covered with diamond-hard crystals his arm, body, and head, leaving his legs open. Then he stepped out in front of the window. Almost immediately, there was a crack as a bullet smashed itself to pieces on his armour, then the bang of a sniper rifle. Hades leapt up behind the shield. He conjured up a plasma ball and sent it zooming out of the door, then to the enemies' position. It smashed through the wall, and bathed the inside of the building in a cruel yellow light. Several people came running out, clothes on fire, but Crystal was ready and mowed them down with her minicannon. Igor spoke into his microphone.

"Roz?"

"Good effect on target," said Rosalinde. "No survivors. Moving." 

 

With Rosalinde spotting, and Hades and Crystal providing the firepower, they hunted for White Fang fighters, moving from building to building, keeping under cover. They were on the top floor of an office building, hiding behind upturned desks, when Rosalinde's whisper came over the radio.

"Boss? I think I found Management. One man, Bull Faunus, red hair, sword, black clothes. One man, human, no visible weapons, black clothes, grey hair. One woman, human, green hair, twin bladed handguns. One woman, Human or Faunus, heavily bandaged, long white hair, no visible weapons... And they've spotted me!" Rosalinde's voice changed as she switched to her smoke form. "Relocating."

There was the sound of gunfire, and from their vantage point, they could see Rosalinde streaking away across the grounds towards them. The Bull Faunus leader drew his sword, and cried out loud. From every corner, White Fang fighters came pouring out towards him, though they were clever enough not to clump up with heavy artillery around. They opened fire on Rosalinde, but she flitted up against a closed door, through the metal grating, and was gone.

"To the roof," said Igor.

They ran up the stairs, forced the door, and emerged onto the roof. Igor stood on the edge, arms spread out, and created a diamond shield for his comrades. Crystal stood up, aimed, fired. A hail of bullets sped out toward the leaders. The white-haired woman raised a hand. Crystal could see the flashes where Dust rounds exploded against a shield. The green-haired woman fired back, but they were well out of range of her pistols.

"That woman just stopped a hundred thirty-cal armor piercing dust rounds," said Crystal. "These ones may be a bit heavier than the rest."

"Incoming," said Hades.

Far below them, the white-haired woman had conjured up a bow and arrows out of thin air. Blazing arrows came flying towards them. Hades bared his teeth, and planted his staff on the floor.

"Little girl wants to play with fire? Mind if I play, too?"

Hades raised his hand, chanting a three-syllable spell. The fire arrows stopped in mid-air, and exploded till Hades contained the blast into a three-feet-wide sphere. He shouted, and the ball increased its size to ten feet, then split itself into three smaller spheres. One of the spheres, he sent hurtling back at the group of leaders. The others, he sent down to the ground, where the balls started flitting about, setting White Fang soldiers on fire.

As Igor watched, the white-haired woman crossed her arms, and a shimmering shield appeared. Hades' fireball hit it and blew up in a mighty explosion. The woman stumbled, and fell back, supported by the grey-haired man. The Bull Faunus had dropped to one knee, but now stood up again. The green-haired girl had not been as lucky. The explosion had thrown her a few dozen feet back, with her head against a wall. She fell to the ground, moving feebly.

"Down!" shouted Igor. Crystal holstered her weapon, put one hand behind her back for Hades to grab, and one hand on Igor's diamond-encrusted form. She pushed off, and the three of them slowly floated off the roof, towards the ground. As they landed, Igor's shield cracked and disappeared. The remaining White Fang fighters opened fire on them, and Crystal, Igor, and Hades returned fire. Bullets angrily buzzed between them. The few White Fang soldiers were badly outgunned. Some of them died firing at Team ICHR, some died trying to run away. Only a handfull made it to safety.

Crystal now aimed up at the leaders, increased her mass till she weighed a thousand pounds, and flipped her minicannon to its highest firing rate. Her barrage ripped rocks to pieces, but the angle was wrong to hit anyone. She ceased fire, barrels spinning out.

Hades leaned on his staff, head bowed, breathing hard, then looked up.

"Crystal. You're hit. You're bleeding."

Crystal growled, her face twisted in an angry scowl. "I been bleedin' every damn month since I was a little girl. Ain't gonna mope about it now."

Hades took a deep breath, then stood up straight, laughing. "Thank you for that image."

"Forward," said Igor. "Now, we go for the leaders. Be wary of return fire."

As they advanced, Rosalinde's voice was in their ears. "Boss? They've buggered off, that hell woman and her boyfriends. They're off to the North. Maybe I can catch them, but you sure as hell can't. Want me to go after them?"

Igor considered only one moment.

"Negative. Our job is here. We must make sure that no White Fang remain."

"Roger that," said Rosalinde. "Hey!"

Igor waited a few moments, frowned. " _Hey_ is not a report, Rosalinde. What is going on please?"

"That girl is still alive. Want me to finish her off?"

"Negative. She may have useful information. Guard her. We will be there momentarily." 

* * *

 

Emerald Sustrai, card-carrying henchman of Cinder Fall, woke up to a splitting headache. She opened her eyes and stopped. Standing round her were the scum who had come in like a bolt of lightning from the Gods and killed most of the White Fang Faunus. She looked from one to the other. Large man in a green suit wearing the same kind of hat Torchwick had worn. A mountain of muscle she assumed was female by the long blonde hair and the tits. A slender black woman with a disturbing smile on her face, and finally, the most civilised one of the lot, that wizard who had blown her away by stealing Cinder's fire and returning it with interest. Emerald took a deep breath, checked her arms and legs. She was lying on the ground, on her side. Her wrists were tied behind her back. A few experimental pulls showed that whoever had done it, knew what they were doing. It would take her at least half an hour to get out. Nothing appeared to be broken, but there was no telling what the future would hold.

"Good afternoon," said the green man. "I am Igor Green. What is your name?"

"Traci," said Emerald. "With an i."

The mage smiled. "I am not one who conjures by people's names, Traci. When we meet your friends, they may ask for you. You wouldn't want them to worry about you, would you?"

"What..." Emerald coughed, looked at Hades with large frightened eyes. "What do you mean?"

"It would be good if you did not lie to us," said Igor. "Your _real_ name, if you please."

"But... that _is_ my real name!"

"Please," said Hades.

Emerald looked into Hades' eyes. She sighed. This was not a hill worth dying on. "Emerald. Emerald Sustrai."

"Thank you, Emerald," said Hades. He looked at his scroll. "That would mean that your companions were Mr. Mercury Black, and Miss Cinder Fall. And Generalissimo Adam Taurus of course. Miss Linda Cassata is still missing, feared dead. Oh my. Miss Fall doesn't look like her picture anymore."

"Cameras always add ten pounds," said Crystal. "So does a mile of bandages."

"Young Miss Rose did not take kindly to her killing Miss Nikos," said Igor.

Emerald scowled. "You're the ones to talk. You just turned the whole compound into a slaughterhouse."

Igor shrugged. "We oppose the White Fang. Miss Fall opposes the Kingdom of Vale. Your own hands are not clean of blood. In the end, everyone dies."

"What do you want from me? What are you going to do with me?" Emerald stuck her chin up. "If you're going to kill me, get it over with."

"We have no orders to kill you," said Igor. "Vale authorities will want to know what you have to say about Miss Fall. So do we."

"You want me to rat on my friends? What if I tell you to go to hell?"

Rosalinde knelt by Emerald and slowly ran her fingers over her arm and shoulder.

"We make sure you get there first."

"Roz," said Hades.

Rosalinde looked at him over her shoulder. "Got a better idea?"

"Perhaps." Hades sat down in front of Emerald. Rosalinde drew away. "Your employer has launched quite a successful attack on Beacon Academy and Vale City. You will lead us to your employer. We will kill your employer. When she is dead, you are no longer relevant to our efforts."

"She'll kill me if I betray her."

"She will not have the opportunity."

"You don't know how powerful she is."

"But I do know how powerful we are. Much as it disgusts me to broach the subject of pain thresholds, no matter how high yours is, I can reach it."

"Are you trying to scare me?"

"I am trying to reason with you. Are you hungry?"

Emerald frowned. Was he going to bribe her with food?

"Maybe," she said.

"Roasting flesh smells delicious when you are hungry. Even if it is human flesh. I speak from experience. An experience I do not wish to repeat, and _you_ do not want to live through even once. Do you have any doubt that I can, and _will_ break you if I must?"

Emerald kept her voice steady. "What's in it for me?"

"Once Cinder Fall is dead, we will let you go."

"I don't believe you. What's to keep you from killing me once I've given you what you want?"

Igor grabbed Emerald by her shoulders and pulled her up to a sitting position.

"If you give _no_ answers, we will hurt you. Do you believe _that_?"

Emerald looked into Igor's eyes and could see... nothing. Not a shred of emotion. His hands were still on her arms, firm, but not so hard that it hurt. She could beguile him, make him think she had disappeared. Maybe she could do the same to the fire wizard, but she'd have to beguile four people, which she knew she couldn't do. She sighed, looked down.

"Where have they gone, Emerald?" said Hades.

"There's a rendezvous point," said Emerald. "Twenty miles to the north. They'll wait for me there for forty-eight hours. After that, they'll assume I'm dead and move on. I don't know where. She hasn't told me."

"Thank you, Emerald," said Hades.

"Now, we leave," said Igor. 

* * *

 

They hadn't untied her, but on the other hand, they were very polite, catching her if she stumbled, giving her water and energy bars. Emerald wasn't fooled. All this being nice to her only served to remind her that they could also be _not_ nice if they wanted. It was a mind game, and if there was one expert on mind games, it was Miss Emerald Sustrai, Master Thief. Her wrists were tied with rope, not plastic tie-wraps or handcuffs, which was good. While she walked, she had already started to loosen the bonds, and then left it when she could probably get herself free in a minute or two. It was starting to get dark. Emerald stumbled a few more times than strictly necessary, hunched her shoulders, spoke only in single, short words. Finally, she stopped.

"We're close," she said, "but I need to see better to find the place. It's hidden behind thorny bushes."

"Very well," said Igor. "We still have thirty-six hours. We will stay the night here. Please to make camp." 

 

It wasn't much of a camp. They found a place out of the way between some shrubs at the top of a hill. There wasn't even a camp fire, but with a fire mage around, that wasn't a reason not to make tea. The large machine gun woman helped Emerald sit down. They pulled out blankets and settled down to a gorgeous banquet of energy bars. The way to tell lunch from dinner was that these had raisins in, rather than cranberries. The snake woman, Mr. Green, and the machine gun woman settled down to sleep, while Hades stayed awake. Emerald watched him closely, but he looked alert and awake. He smiled at her.

"There's some tea left. Would you like some, Emerald?"

Emerald smiled back. "Yes please."

Hades poured the last of the tea into a mug and held it up to her lips. She took a quick breath as the tea almost burnt her. Emerald blew on it. Hades patiently held the cup up to her until it had cooled enough. Emerald took a little sip. She caught his eyes.

"You know, if you'd untie my hands, this would be a lot easier."

"Yes it would, but the first casualty of war is truth. It's not that I don't trust you, Emerald, but rather that I _do_ trust you to try and escape. I am not tired of your company yet."

"What if I need to take a pee?"

"You have the choice of Crystal or Rosalinde to help you with that."

Emerald shuddered. "The human please. That snake woman scares me."

"She should. She is dangerous, and has suffered much. There is much anger left in her."

Emerald looked at Hades. Her voice trembled.

"Not as dangerous as Cinder Fall. If _she_ sees me with you, she'll kill me."

"She certainly seems to have no qualms about killing people. She killed Miss Nikos, who was no longer a threat to her."

"The way she killed Pyrrha was a _mercy_. Arrow through the chest, a few moments of burning, and... gone. If she gets her hands on me, she'll take hours and hours to torture me to death. Forget about your pain thresholds. Even you would have stopped burning me if I'd talk. She won't. She'll put me through hell until I beg for death."

"We are Team ICHR. We have faced threats much worse than her. Trust me, Emerald, even if by some miracle Cinder Fall would get the upper hand, getting her revenge on you would be the least of her concerns."

"She is the _Fall_ _Maiden_! She has powers. You don't realise who you're up against."

"And yet she, you, and Mr. Mercury Black had little trouble defeating the last Fall Maiden. Her fire magic cannot harm me. Mr. Black and Adam Taurus are mere distractions. We will defeat her."

Emerald bowed her head down, breathing in shallow gasps. Then, she looked up at Hades.

"Please, Mr. Tinker. _Please._ Just let me go. She's only a mile or two away, you can find her from here. I don't want her to find out that I..." Emerald shivered. "I betrayed her. I just don't want to die." Slow, big tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm so scared."

"I can't let you go. You know I can't, Emerald, even if I would."

Emerald looked up. The tip of her tongue peeked out between her lips.

"I could make it worth your while." Emerald smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Even with my hands tied. And then you just... Look the other way for a while, and I'll..."

"Emerald." Hades touched her cheek. "Even if I _were_ interested in the company of women, my tastes are somewhat, well, eccentric. I would certainly not allow you to tie _me_ up."

Emerald looked into Hades'eyes. She felt her way into his mind, and changed his perception of her. Her hair grew longer. Her breasts disappeared. Her features changed subtly till she looked like a young man sitting in front of him.

"Is this better? All tastes catered to. I have done this... professionally. I was very good at my job."

Hades breathed in sharply. "Emerald, _stop_. Stop before I am forced to defend myself. You will remember what I told you about the smell of burning flesh. The man I tortured was my _friend_ , and I was _made_ to do it by someone with a semblance like yours." Hades bared his teeth. "Stop _now_."

There was a sudden noise, and with a hiss, Rosalinde sprang forward towards Emerald. She grabbed a handfull of Emerald's green hair and pulled back her head. Rosalinde drew her dagger and spat venom on it, then put it to Emerald's throat.

" _Mindbender!_ Die, you little bitch!"

" _No!_ " Hades raised his hands. "Wait!"

Rosalinde glared at Hades. "Get the hell out of here and get her out of your head. I'll take care of _her_. When you get back, she'll be gone."

Igor stepped up. "What is the meaning of _this_?"

"We got ourselves a mindbender here," said Rosalinde. "But not for much longer."

"You will not kill her," said Igor. "She cannot lead us to Cinder Fall if she is dead."

"I don't give a damn," said Rosalinde. "After what happened to Razid, we agreed to kill any mindbender on sight. That was the deal then, that's the deal now." She pulled Emerald's head back a little further, gripped her dagger tighter. "Goodbye, little rat."

"Roz..." Hades put his hand on Rosalinde's arm. "She wasn't even _born_ when Razid died. She's done nothing to deserve this."

Rosalinde didn't look away from Emerald's face. "I told you to piss off. You can't be trusted with mindbenders around."

"Rosalinde, please to let go of Miss Emerald."

"Get stuffed. She dies like we agreed, or you can find someone else to sneak around for you."

There was a sound somewhere between a snort and a grunt, and Crystal stepped forward and grabbed Rosalinde's arm. She pulled the dagger away from Emerald and lifted Rosalinde up by her shirt, feet dangling in the air.

"Listen, you little _rat-muncher_. The boss said she lives, and what the boss wants, the boss gets. Now get lost."

With a mighty heave, Crystal threw Rosalinde, sending her flying in a mess of arms and legs till she landed in a crumpled heap. She sprang to her feet, bright white fangs bare in her dark face.

"You _bitch_! I'll..."

Igor turned to Rosalinde and raised his voice in a deep rumble. "You will do nothing of the kind! Do we have to tie _you_ up and guard you as well as Miss Emerald?"

Rosalinde glared at Igor, took one or two deep breaths. Then, she put away her dagger, picked up her blanket.

"After we kill that hell-bitch, she's _mine_."

She curled up with her back to the rest, and pulled her blanket over her. 

 

Everybody setttled back down. Hades knelt down by Emerald.

"Are you all right?"

Emerald no longer needed to pretend she was scared. She took a few shivering breaths, then nodded. Hades helped her lie down, put a blanket over her.

"Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day. I promise." Hades sat down, crossed his legs. "I think I'll meditate for a while now. Good heavens, and to think that if I hadn't agreed on another round of adventures, I could be in the Penitentiary Club now, with Victor using his whips on me. Remind me to book a session once this is over."

Emerald looked up at him, as if she couldn't believe what she heard.

"You _pay_ someone to whip you?"

"On occasion."

Emerald shook her head. "I'll never understand why people do that."

Hades reached in his pocket and produced a pipe, which he filled with tobacco. He pointed a finger at it and blew out a few smoke rings.

"I am a Grand Master fire wizard. A practitioner of pyrokinesis. There are some who are stronger than I am, but not many. My powers of destruction are vast. By a mere thought, I could turn this place into a pocket of hell, and in just seconds, everyone but me would be a smouldering pile of ash. But my powers are both a blessing and a curse. I can never drink wine. I can never allow myself to relinquish control. That only happened to me once, to my great cost, and Rosalinde's. That is where her anger comes from." Hades drew on his pipe. "Only when I am bound hand and foot, with Vincent dealing out pain or pleasure at his whim. Only then can I pretend to be helpless. Only then can I be free of my burden for a few short hours. You must feel helpless and afraid now, Emerald, and I truly am sorry that we have to put you through this. Still, in a way, I envy you. Whatever happens next is not your responsibility. It is mine. Mine is the blame."

"Cinder won't see it like that."

Hades looked at the bowl of his pipe, then back at Emerald. "Let me make you a promise. I know that it isn't as good a promise as you would want, but it's better than any alternative. If it becomes clear that you must die, then I will not allow you to fall into the hands of Cinder Fall, or Rosalinde. I will do it. There will be no pain, there will be no time for fear. It will be over before you know it. You have my solemn word on it."

Emerald said nothing. She looked away.

"Thank you," she said, finally. What else was there to say?

"Good night, Emerald," said Hades. 

* * *

 

Emerald turned her back away, and looked at Hades' still form, sitting deep in meditation. What he said, had been very sweet of him. Emerald didn't want to die slowly. She also didn't want to die quickly. Emerald didn't want to die at any speed other than that of old age. She closed her eyes a few moments, concentrating deeply. Emerald was good at using her semblance. She could induce visions, feelings, and sounds in the minds of others, which they couldn't tell from reality. She had used it often, usually for stealing things. Sometimes to distract an enemy. Sometimes to make them do things they wouldn't normally do. But never had her life depended more on her art than tonight. With infinite patience, she let her mind trickle into Hades' as slowly as she could. It wasn't a hard illusion. She was simply suggesting to Hades that she was lying on the ground, asleep. There was no obvious change in what he saw to alert him. Finally, with her illusion complete, she sat up quietly, and with a few minutes work freed her hands. As quiet as she could, she stalked away from Hades and his sleeping companions. She could probably keep the illusion up until she was about a half-mile away. Then, Hades would see her vanish into thin air. It was dark. Nobody would be able to track her. Unless she was very wrong, Team ICHR would probably waste precious time discussing whose fault it was that she was gone.

Straining herself to the limit, she walked on till she could hold on no more and broke her illusion. She broke into a sprint, then after a few minutes settled down into a relaxed jog that she could keep up for hours, making for Port Sweetwater and the ferry to Levanter Harbour in Mistral. From there, on to the safe house to find her dear, dear friends and then, on to what else life could bring.

Emerald found the road to Sweetwater, and trotted along it, till the first houses appeared in the distance. Made it! She took a deep breath and saw a little stream by the side of the road. She bent down, scooped up some water in her hands and took a long drink. As she looked down into the water, she saw a cloud of dark mist drift towards her. Emerald frowned. Was someone making a fire? Emerald looked round where the fire might be. There was a sound like a breeze of wind, then a voice in her ear.

"Hello sweetie."

Emerald whirled round, but she was too late and she knew it. Someone grabbed her hair. There was a sudden pain in her neck. Her knees gave out and she slumped to the ground. Then, the world turned black. 

* * *

 

Emerald woke up, which was unexpected. She was bouncing up and down in a steady rhythm. Someone had a good grip on her leg and arm. Emerald raised her head. She found she was draped over the shoulders of the large woman with the machine gun. Crystal noticed her moving and stopped.

"Good morning Sunshine." Crystal lifted Emerald's leg up. "What are these things?"

"Uhh..." Emerald coughed. "Feet?"

"Great! That means you can walk by your own damn self."

Crystal dropped Emerald to the ground. Emerald picked herself up with a filthy look at Crystal. The whole of Team ICHR stood around her. They were about an hour's march away from Sweetwater.

"Emerald!" Hades beamed at her. "How nice to see you again. Thank you for pointing us in the right direction. So where is your employer, then?"

"Go to hell," said Emerald, wearily.

"The offer of roast leg of henchman is still open, you know?"

Emerald sighed, pointed. "Over at the harbour."

"That's what I thought. Heading for Mistral, then?"

Emerald said nothing, nodded.

"Thank you", said Hades. "Let's go! A little run will do you good. Gets rid of the last of the toxin."

"And don't even think of running away sugar," said Crystal. "If Roz can't catch you, Old Painkiller certainly can, and you've still got nice legs _now_." 

 

They got to the harbour, only to find that the ship had sailed an hour before. There was no sign of the Enemy.

"This is disappointing," said Igor. "Is there anything you can tell us, Miss Emerald?"

"Not a damn thing," said Emerald. She sounded genuinely sad. "They've gone to Mistral without me. They must think I'm dead."

"What in the world could give them that idea?" said Rosalinde.

"You're a bloodthirsty rat-sucker," said Emerald.

"And you're the tastiest, juiciest little rat," said Rosalinde, sweetly. "Makes sense."

"Humans crap on the mammal Faunus, mammals crap on the reptiles. Has to suck, not having anyone to crap on."

Rosalinde ran a finger over Emerald's cheek. She winced.

"I've got _you_ , baby."

"We have a problem," said Igor.

"Aw, _so_ sorry to hear that," said Emerald. "Anything I can do to make it worse?"

"You could tell us where in Mistral they are," said Crystal, "but you'd just lie your cute little butt off."

"So now what? Glowing pokers? Really not in the mood for that."

Igor shrugged. "We cannot go into Mistral. The authorities there dislike us for reasons best not to discuss. This is the place where we part ways. If you stay in Vale, we will track you. If you go to Mistral, we will send word to our friends, and _they_ will track you. Please to have a good day, Miss Emerald."

Emerald blinked. "You're letting me go?"

"You have a problem with my accent? Yes! Shoo! Be off with you!"

Emerald slowly turned round, took a few steps. Nobody grabbed her to drag her off to unimaginably cruel tortures. She took another step.

"Hey!" Emerald turned her head round, startled. She _knew_ it! Crystal stood behind her. She held her weapons out to her. Emerald took them, put them on her belt.

"You take care now, will you?" 

* * *

 

They watched Emerald step on the ferry and disappear. Crystal looked at Hades.

"What are you smiling about?"

"I like her," said Hades. "She's smart."

"Don't get too attached to her, baby," said Crystal. "She keeps dangerous company."

"Should have let me put the wind up her some more," said Rosalinde. "I still don't like mind-benders."

"She has gone beyond our reach now," said Igor. "We must get word to young Master Qrow. I wonder where he is, these days."

"All over the place," said Hades. "Hunting for Ozpin. Looking after his nieces. No telling where he is at any given time. He tends just to turn up where he is needed."

"Then we will now return to Beacon," said Igor. "And collect our pay for getting rid of the White Fang."

"Great," said Crystal. "Wonder if Glynda has any more jobs for us. We'll get rich just before lien aren't worth shit anymore."

"Always with the gloomy," said Igor. "Let us leave." 

* * *

 

It was only a short walk from the ferry to the small house where they'd hidden up while plotting their campaign at the Vytal Festival. Emerald took the key from under a rock and went in. She walked into the living room. There was a voice behind her.

"Oh hi Em! Nice to see you could make it. You're getting slow."

"Shut up, Mercury," said Emerald, wearily.

Cinder looked up from the sofa. Emerald still hadn't got used to what she looked like now. Ruby had really cut loose back on top of the tower. Cinder's hair, once black as coal, now had turned white. Her arms, legs, breasts, and most of her stomach were covered in bandages. Underneath the bandages, her skin was nothing but angry red, blistered in places. It was frankly a miracle that she was still alive. Who says the good guys never get a break?

"Where have you been?"

Cinder's voice had turned into a broken whisper. Only her eyes still burnt with the same amber colour, and she was focusing on Emerald with the same intensity as ever.

"I got caught," said Emerald. "Oh, the tortures I've endured. How I screamed for my friends to come and rescue me. All to no avail."

"Who by?"

"They called themselves Team ICHR," said Emerald.

Cinder scowled. "Everybody said those bastards were dead. Never believed it for a minute. What did you tell them?"

Emerald stepped over to Cinder and bent down to her. "Whatever I needed to tell them to get out of there after _you_ left me to rot. Everything." Emerald looked Cinder over. "When was the last time you changed those bandages?"

"Haven't had the time."

Emerald looked round, saw the medicine bag, filled a bowl with hot water, and added antiseptic powder from a bag. She pulled out fresh bandages and put them in the solution to soak.

"What did you tell them," said Cinder, again.

"They already knew all of our names. I told them you are the Fall Maiden, but I think they already guessed that. They probably know you're in Mistral. They can guess where we're headed, because there's no other place in this shithole worth bothering with. Now you know what Doctor Armless said. Change the bandages every twenty-four hours, or your skin is gonna rot and fall off. How long ago was it?"

"I should kill you," said Cinder.

Emerald took her bowl of soaked bandages over and looked down on her Mistress.

"Maybe you should," she said, reaching out for her arm. She pulled at the bandage, and Cinder gave a short gasp before she got herself under control again. "But then, who's going to convince you that this doesn't hurt?"

Emerald looked into Cinder's eyes. Her semblance took away Cinder's pain, and Cinder gave a quiet sigh. Emerald unwound the bandage on her arm, cleaned the wounds with a cloth, put a fresh bandage on, hiding Cinder's burnt flesh.

"You don't want to face your precious Queen looking like roast chicken. Makes sense. She only keeps you on because of your powers." Emerald re-bandaged Cinder's other arm, then started on her torso, where the worst wounds were. People often forgot that intense cold burns as badly as intense heat. "Until you find out how to restore yourself using those precious Maiden Powers, you need me. You should have offed the Spring girl, not the Fall girl."

"You don't get to tell _me_ what to do," said Cinder.

"I could have stayed away. You obviously thought I was dead. But here I am, changing your disgusting bandages for you."

Emerald tied off the last of the chest bandages and started on Cinder's legs. They weren't as attractive or useful as once they were. She'd probably heal herself in a while, but for now, Emerald was useful to her. Best to keep it that way. She finished working on Cinder's legs, dropped the spent bandages in the can. She turned to Cinder.

"So what are the magic words?"

Cinder glared at her.

"Thank you."

Emerald smiled sweetly. "You're welcome. Now I've had a rough couple of days. I'm going to bed."

Mercury leaned against the doorframe, grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

"Get bent," said Emerald, and pushed him out of the way.

Mercury grabbed her shoulder. "Hey."

" _What?_ "

Mercury squeezed her shoulder. "It's good to see you, Em."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Yeah," said Emerald. "Hey. Where's Bull Boy?"

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Regrouping."

"Regrouping? With _what_? There can't be more than five White Fang left!"

"The White Fang will rise again," said Mercury, raising his fist.

"Like a bad curry," said Emerald. "I'm off to bed." For a fleeting moment, she considered asking Mercury to join her. She could use a bit of fun, and loud grunting noises would annoy Cinder most deliciously. An idea dropped as soon as it came to her. She'd never hear the end of it if ever she did bang Merc.

Emerald went into the bedroom. She took off her clothes, put them on a chair, sat down on the bed. Beds. Chairs. Bedrooms. If Cinder got her way, all that would simply not exist anymore in a year's time. For the millionth time, she asked herself what she'd got into. Wouldn't it have been better just to have attacked Cinder when they first met? She'd be dead now. Restful.

Emerald closed the curtains, got into bed, pulled the covers over her. Best to enjoy civilisation while it was still there. She closed her eyes, and slept. 


End file.
